Why Interprofessional Collaboration in Nursing is Essential

Effective health care requires the involvement of teams from different professional backgrounds as well as the patient, social supports, and the community. Coordination between doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and other caregivers is crucial for providing the highest-quality patient care.¹

As the clinical professionals with primary patient contact, nurses play an important role in interdisciplinary teams. This article will explore what interprofessional collaboration in nursing is and how it can improve patient outcomes.

What is interprofessional collaboration in nursing?

Throughout treatment, a team of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, social workers and others contributes to a patient’s care. When these professionals work together, it improves patient engagement, satisfaction, and health outcomes.¹

Interprofessional collaboration involves every member of the health care team working together to develop and carry out treatment plans. This shift from disparate, individual roles to a team approach recognizes that patients need holistic care and social support for the best outcomes.²

As nurses are the linchpins of these teams, the burden can often end up falling on them to facilitate collaboration. There are, however, ways to promote increased collaboration without adding to nurses’ already overwhelming schedules. By creating daily opportunities for collaboration, teams can connect and develop shared goals for patient care without taking up significantly more time for any individual team member.

Key Benefits of Interprofessional Collaboration in Nursing

Successful patient care relies on taking a holistic approach that includes all relevant health care providers and the patient’s family and social supports. In one hospital visit, a patient may be seen by an emergency physician, a cardiologist, a pulmonologist, an endocrinologist, nurses, a dietician, a physical therapist, and a social worker.³ Professional team members can provide better patient care and outcomes when they work together, in a collaborative relationship, with shared goals.

Every member of a health care team has insight into a part of the patient’s case but may lack a high-level overview. By collaborating through efforts such as group rounds, everyone can gain insight and engage in direct communication with the patient.⁴

Interprofessional collaboration can also help mitigate clinical errors that frequently occur during patient handoffs, care transitions, and medication management. Over seven million patients experience medical errors every year, and 7,000 to 9,000 die because of these errors. Sharing knowledge on collaborative platforms can help prevent these errors.³

Health care organizations also save money when professionals collaborate on patient care. When everyone has access to all of the diagnostic tests, they’re less likely to perform unnecessary procedures and follow-up tests, thus reducing the cost of health care.³

How do nurses collaborate with interdisciplinary teams?

Nurses work with everyone involved on a patient’s interdisciplinary team, acting as pivotal communicators and caregivers, bridging various specialties for comprehensive patient care.

• They participate in multidisciplinary rounds, contributing nursing assessments to the team's knowledge pool
• They ensure integrated care execution by administering interventions from different disciplines
• They advocate for patients, voicing their needs and preferences in care planning, which is crucial for patient-centered outcomes
• They facilitate information exchange among team members using electronic health records and other communication tools
• They work with team members who don’t provide hands-on care, such as pharmacists
• Through leadership and coordination roles, they help to prioritize tasks, negotiate roles, and resolve conflicts, fostering a collaborative, supportive environment that is conducive to optimal patient care

By working closely with each person who has input into a treatment plan, nurses are the heart of interprofessional collaboration—in nursing and among disparate disciplines.⁴

Tools and Technologies That Support Collaboration

Health care teams have many options for software that fosters streamlined communication. Electronic health records (EHRs) are the most effective and comprehensive collaborative technology. With access to a patient’s EHR, all clinicians can see the patient’s clinical course, test results, medication, and other relevant health care information. EHRs offer centralized access to all of a patient’s data, including real-time alerts and updates that health care providers need to make informed decisions.⁴

Telehealth platforms facilitate patient-centered care by allowing health care providers to meet with patients and other team members remotely. This can be especially important in rural and underserved areas, where access to health care is more difficult to obtain.⁴ Telehealth systems enhance accessibility, convenience, and efficiency, breaking down geographical barriers and enabling access for individuals with mobility challenges. It facilitates the timely delivery of medical advice, which can lead to early detection and better management of conditions. It supports the continuum of care through remote monitoring, encouraging patient engagement and adherence to treatment plans. Additionally, telehealth reduces healthcare costs and minimizes the risk of infectious disease transmission.

Various communication platforms play a critical role in facilitating collaborative patient care, with each designed to enhance the flow of information and coordination between health care providers.

• Secure messaging apps allow instant communication between team members
• Teleconferencing services enable virtual meetings and consultations
• Patient portals facilitate communication, allowing patients to engage actively with their care teams 
• Smart devices and wearables integrate with these platforms to provide continuous patient monitoring and data sharing

In addition, nursing staff often utilize integrated care coordination software that streamlines care transitions and tracks patient progress. Collectively, these tools strengthen the collaborative efforts needed for high-quality, efficient patient care.

What can health care organizations do to promote better teamwork?

Following effective principles of teamwork and collaboration in nursing and health care can help organizations and facilities improve patient outcomes. These include the following:

Establish Shared Goals

Health care teams work best when everyone involved clearly understands the goals of treatment. The goal-setting process should include relevant providers as well as the patient, family, and other people in supportive roles.⁵ It cultivates a sense of purpose and collective responsibility, enhancing teamwork and efficiency. Shared goals:

• Foster a unified approach to patient care, aligning diverse expertise to deliver coordinated, high-quality treatment
• Minimize confusion and conflict by providing a clear roadmap for care delivery
• Encourage mutual accountability, which is key to evaluating progress, facilitating continuous improvement, and ultimately driving better health outcomes for patients

Define Clear Roles

As published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “There are clear expectations for each team member’s functions, responsibilities, and accountabilities, which optimize the team’s efficiency and often make it possible for the team to take advantage of division of labour, thereby accomplishing more than the sum of its parts. … Team members earn each other’s trust, creating strong norms of reciprocity and greater opportunities for shared achievement. They respect and appreciate the role of each other. They also respect each other’s talents and beliefs, in addition to their professional contributions. Effective teams also accept and encourage a diversity of opinions among members.”⁵

Ensure Effective Communication

In nursing, where every detail matters, effective communication isn't just a skill—it's an integral part of delivering quality health care. Again, from the NIH, “The team prioritizes and continuously refines its communication skills. It has consistent and accessible channels for complete communication … used by all team members across all settings.”⁵

Effective communication is pivotal in interprofessional collaboration in nursing for several reasons:

1. It ensures accurate information sharing, promoting patient safety by reducing errors and aligning the team on treatment plans. 
2. It fosters a culture of mutual respect among colleagues, leading to improved decision-making and increased job satisfaction. 
3. It streamlines workflows, saving valuable time and resources. 
4. Ultimately, it makes a positive impact on the patient’s health by ensuring comprehensive, coordinated care.

Measure Processes and Outcomes

The measurement of processes and outcomes gives each health care team a quantitative basis for evaluating the efficacy of their patient care. This data-driven approach helps identify best practices and areas needing improvement, which fosters continuous quality enhancement.⁵ By tracking these metrics, team members can ensure accountability, align their goals, and streamline efforts toward shared objectives, leading to efficient resource utilization. Moreover, measuring outcomes contributes directly to evidence-based practice, enabling health care professionals to refine their collaborative strategies to yield better patient care, satisfaction, and overall health system performance.

Sustain Effective Leadership

Although all team members are important, there must be an effective leader in place to facilitate communication and coordination between them. Strong leadership sets the tone for teamwork, direction, and ethos, ensuring that the team meets collaborative goals while maintaining high standards of patient care. It is, simply put, critical to interprofessional collaboration in nursing and health care.⁶

Improve Patient Care as the Core of Collaborative Nursing

Oklahoma City University’s online MSN program can help you hone your leadership abilities and equip you with the knowledge to manage teams effectively in any health care setting. Choose the leadership specialization to develop the skills needed to facilitate collaboration, oversee caregiving, manage finances, and examine operations to find areas of improvement.

Discover how leadership impacts patient outcomes, staff retention, and organizational success. The program’s curriculum explores various leadership theories and styles, so you’ll learn to apply them in real-world settings. It’s designed to give you the flexibility to study on your schedule while still offering comprehensive, in-depth training in nursing leadership.

Become the leader your team and patients can rely on. Start today by visiting our admissions page and scheduling a call with an admissions outreach advisor.